Live and Work

Vintage DilbertJuly 26, 2010

Father was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after work attending classes, hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better paying job. Except for Sundays, Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with the best money could buy.

Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed, and with distinctions too! Soon after, he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely.

Like a dream come true, Father could now afford to provide his family with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing, fine food and vacation abroad.

However, the family still did not get to see father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to be promoted to the position of manager. In fact, to make himself a worthily candidate for the promotion, he enrolled for another course in the open university.

Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

Father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. Jubilantly, he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks. He also felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough, it would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a condominium. Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact, sometimes Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients. Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

As expected, Father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium overlooking the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, Father declared to his family that he decided not to take anymore courses or pursue any more promotions. From then on he was going to devote more time to his family.

Father did not wake up the next day.

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So sad. What a lesson for all of us! Reminds me of James 4:13-14, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

This is a great story that touches my life on a regular basis. Unlike the man above, I do take time for my family. I work early so I can get home for them, early. My wife doesn’t work… Of course she often laments the fact that, unlike her sister, we don’t have a big house and brand new cars and lavish vacations. I have to remind her regularly that those things are well within our grasp if we are willing to sacrifice seeing our children on a regular basis. There is another side to the story that you posted and the final moral is this: Half of happiness is loving what we have rather than coveting what we don’t.

Happened to my father. He worked very hard, then he decided to retire (or at least cut back to part time). At age sixty two, he collapsed with a bleeding cerebral aneurysm and never woke up. Died two days later.

Reblogged this on Father Says… and commented:
Here’s a message we “fathers” and “mothers” should remember. Tomorrow is never a certainty. Hope you enjoy … and are moved by it. Our greatest gift to our families is time and physical presence.

Lovely touching story. it’s reality that parent give their best for children’s upbringing, but see the agony that sometimes didn’t enjoy their own life. Love for them and time should be devoted to families also as life is too short, you never know what is hidden in tomorrow.